Taipei, Aug. 20 (CNA) Taiwan's national basketball team will have another shot to punch its ticket to the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup finals in a crucial qualifying tournament next week in Guam, according to Taiwan's basketball association Thursday.
The men's national team will face Guam in a two-game series in the town of Mangilao on Aug. 26 and Aug. 28 as part of the Asia Cup qualifying tournament for teams that finished third in the six groups in the previous qualifying round from February 2020 to June 2021.
Taiwan finished third in its Asia Cup qualifying group with China, Japan, and Malaysia with a 1-4 record, though Malaysia pulled out of the final stages of group play because of COVID-19 concerns.
Guam finished third in its group that also included Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.
The team that either wins both games or scores more points in the two games if they are split will advance to the Asia Cup finals.
The other qualifying tournament for third-ranked teams in Jeddah will feature a round-robin of three other teams -- Saudi Arabia, Palestine and India -- with the top two finishers making the finals.
Indonesia was the other third-ranked team in the six-group qualifying round, but it advanced automatically to the Asia Cup finals because it is hosting them.
The 12 teams already in to the finals, which will take place in Jakarta in July 2022, are Australia, Bahrain, China, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Lebanon, New Zealand, Philippines, and Syria.
Ranked 68th in the world, Taiwan has a good chance of defeating Guam, ranked 77th.
Taiwan's roster includes guard Ray Chen (???), the first overall pick in the Chinese Basketball Association in 2017 and a leading figure in Taiwan's new basketball wave.
Also on the team is Jonah Morrison (???), who helped take the Formosa Taishin Dreamers to the 2021 finals of the P.LEAGUE+, Taiwan's professional basketball league, before leaving the team after the season.
The Taiwan team, led by head coach Charlie Parker, will depart Taiwan for Guam on Aug. 23.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel